Let's Face It ...
... we're living in a download culture, and while CD sales continue to plummet, the single has found itself in a new ascendance.

Here's 10 songs we couldn't stop listening to this year:

10. Cobra Starship (feat. Leighton Meester), "Good Girls Go Bad."
We freely admit that we were initially attracted to this tune by the presence of Gossip Girls cutie Meester. In the end, however, the tune's undeniable hook and dancefloor pull won the day.

9. LaRoux, "Bulletproof".
If the first part of the Aughts was dominated by of skinny English guys with a penchant for reinterpreting early 1980s post-punk, then its waning years were the mandate of the classic boy/girl synth duo. For a while there, it seemed like Brit chanteuses Little Boots and LaRoux were fighting tooth and nail for superiority. In the end, however, we have to give the nod to LaRoux. Here's a Yaz for the 00s.

8. The Church, "Pangaea." Best known on these shores for their 1998 hit "Under The Milkyway," the Australian-based guitar-pop unit has been going strong for three decades now. This summer saw the release of their latest studio offering "Untitled #23" (Unorthodox/Second Motion). The record is a testament to the combo's longevity and, in lead track "Pangaea," the four-piece crafted languid summer psychedelia.

7. U2, "Magnificent." This year's "No Line on the Horizon," might have been a hit-or-miss affair by the lofty standards set by Messrs Bono and Co. But in "Magnificent," all the key parts of the U2 formula are present: chiming guitars, soaring vocals and a chorus that's purpose-built for fist-pumping at arena shows. Just a reminder that even so-so U2 is better than most bands' best days.

6. Phoenix, "Lisztomania." Four minutes of pop bliss from a veteran French combo. Though most Yanks too easily dismiss our Gallic cousins as cheese-eating surrender monkeys, no one does disposable pop better than the Europeans. Here's an exemplar of the species.

5. Vampire Weekend, "Horchata." It takes brass ones to write an ode to a Latin American drink made from rice or almond milk and spices (Yeah, we had to look it up, too). The lead track to the NYC band's sophomore effort continues to channel Brian Eno-era Talking Heads. And there are worse things.

4. Miley Cyrus, "Party in the USA." Miz Cyrus has moved beyond music to become pure product. But if you didn't shake your tail-feathers to this one at least once, you have no soul.

3. Taylor Swift, "You Belong With Me." Yeah, we know, it seems like there's a contractual obligation to write about Wyomissing's Favorite Daughter on this 'blog. On the other hand, my 4-year-old knows all the words to this tune and sings along enthusiastically whenever it pops up on the iPod. And it's a testament to sheer craftsmanship to be able to infiltrate the consciousness of an otherwise ballet-obsessed preschooler.

2. Bad Lieutenant, "Sink or Swim." If you blinked in 2009, then there's a good chance that you missed the latest solo effort from New Order frontman Bernard Sumner and drummer Stephen Morris. There's 12-strings galore on this one. And that's a recipe for undeniable pop goodness.

1. Lady GaGa, "Paparazzi." It only makes sense that Her Ladyship (neeStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) broke through in a year in which the American obsession with celebrity gossip reached its absolute apogee. The viewing public couldn't look away from the latest bit of Kardashianesque weirdness. And nor could it stop listening to "Paparazzi" which seemed like a meta-commentary on the trivialities that diverted our attention away from an economy in freefall. With her onstage antics (which included performing semi-nude save for some strategically-placed bubbles) GaGa out Madonna-ed Madonna and in the doing of it, turned herself into her own pop art exhibit.

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.